How Hearing Works

Pressure waves enter the ears through the curved and lobed pinna (everyone's is different like fingerprints). It gauges the vertical contours of an incoming wave to figure out the distance of the sound. The displaced air molecules move through the ear canal and across the membranous ear drum. The vibrations wiggle three tiny bones in the middle ear. They amplify the wave’s energy as it goes into the shell of the inner ear. The wave is then turned into electrical signals by pulsing arrays of hair cells.

Step inside the Ear Canal

If we could stroll up the ear canal for a quick visit, we might find some wax blocking our way. At the end of the fleshy tunnel, we would have to squeeze around a huge, circular membrane - better known as the eardrum. After than, we would sidestep the oddly shaped middle ear bones and step into the inner ear. Up ahead we would see, rising like skyscrapers, a cluster of slender and interconnected inner ear hair cells. Bundles of them would gently bend as sound waves pass. These receptacles take in those sounds and transforming them into electrical signals, sending them to the brain for interpretation.